Bob Tasca III and the Motorcraft Quick Lane Nitro Mustang Dark Horse Funny Car team turned in a solid performance this weekend at the NHRA Sonoma Nationals, advancing to the second round of eliminations and posting the top speed
of the event in qualifying.
Qualifying began Friday at Sonoma Raceway with a solid baseline pass of 3.959 seconds at 321.35 mph in Q1. Despite the car making a hard move to the right, Tasca managed to keep it in the groove and secure a provisional 10th-place
spot. In Q2, the Mustang began to haze the tires around half-track, forcing Tasca to lift and clock a 4.390 at 201.52 mph, dropping him to 11th.
Saturday brought a sharp turnaround. The team took a strategic approach in Q3, installing a lower-output blower and pulling back power, which resulted in a clean 3.918-second run at 336.49 mph, the fastest speed recorded by any Funny
Car over the weekend. In Q4, Tasca backed it up with another clean pass at 3.926 seconds and 333.82 mph, locking in the No. 9 qualifying position heading into Sunday.
In round one of eliminations, Tasca squared off against No. 8 qualifier Dan Wilkerson. Despite overpowering the track mid-run and needing to pedal the car, Tasca crossed the stripe first with a 4.085 at 280.14 mph, while Wilkerson
suffered a catastrophic engine failure. “We got lucky on that one,” Tasca said. “Hard to see Dan blow up again, glad he’s okay.”
The second round featured a heavyweight matchup with No. 1 qualifier Matt Hagan. Tasca laid down another strong pass, 3.936 at 333.49 mph, but lost in a razor-close holeshot finish to Hagan’s 3.937 at 331.36 mph and quicker 0.080
reaction time.
“All the hard work and perseverance paid off this weekend,” said Tasca. “It’s disappointing to go out on a holeshot, but overall, I’m proud of our performance and the consistency we showed. We’re making progress and ready for the
next one.”
Tasca Racing now turns its focus to Brainerd, MN, the next stop on the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series tour, looking to build on the momentum and continue the fight for a championship.
